Black Desert Online reader review – Reader’s Feature

A reader reviews the stunning-looking MMO and gives his view on whether the gameplay lives up to the quality of the graphics.

Black Desert Online was a game I had been tracking for a while. Initially released in 2014 in the East, then released to US/Europe in 2016, it picked up favourable reviews. I recently picked it up during a half price offer and thought I’d share my thoughts for anyone else considering it.
It’s made by Pearl Abyss, a Korean developer. This in itself is often enough to make most people run for the hills, as Korean MMORPGs have a fearsome reputation for being old school hardcore ‎examples of the genre, and rather un-user friendly to boot.

Getting started
After downloading the game I was ready to go at 10pm. I didn’t however even set foot in the game world until 1am, thanks to the incredible character creation tool. I downloaded a few fan templates from the Internet and then tweaked one to make my own masterpiece.

Questing
The next day was spent completing some mainline quests to get my character up to level 20. The levelling goes much higher, but ‎many aspects of the game become unlocked at this point. All the early quests are tutorial-esque in structure and neatly teach you the mechanics of the game. It’s also important because some contain rewards such as inventory expansion, which you begin to realise early is essential.

Contribution points
Quests also give contribution points (CPs), which are a valuable commodity throughout the entire game. As you discover the world you will uncover cities, guard posts, farms, mines, fisheries, and the like. Essentially, anything meaningful on the map is known as a node, and you spend accumulated CPs to unlock‎ nodes and access them.
If you buy a potato farm with points, then staff it with workers, they will bring potatoes to your storage in the nearby city. You can sell your product, or do all manner of other things such as craft with it and produce‎ other things. You can spend CPs on houses, refineries, and many other things, which all unlock different possibilities.

Combat
‎I’m pleased to report it’s excellent. It’s well balanced and nuanced and battles have a nice flow. Each character class has skill moves which can be unlocked and utilised pending cooldowns. Some enemies are vulnerable from‎ the side or rear and some skills are more effective depending on positioning or combos. Dodging and movement are as important as correct application of skills or weapons. Whenever you are hit the camera does a rather nice wobble, which can be turned off, or the sensitivity changed to suit.

The map
Seems big, and the developers continue to add areas to it. I’ve already got well over 100 hours clocked and really haven’t uncovered much. This is largely due to being rather bound to the starting area during the beginning, as I focused on learning skills and picking up contribution points. That’s not to say you couldn’t just simply wander off from the get-go, if you wanted to.

Graphics
On the one hand Black Desert Online is one of the best looking MMOs ever. The character models, including enemies and animals, etc. are second to none‎. I still gawp at what is the nicest example of shiny armour I’ve ever seen in a game. The engine however is under question for me. If you stand still it’s sharp and finely detailed, however once moving you will begin to notice texture pop-in regularly.

I play on a high end rig which allows an option for high end mode within the options, and is the best way to eliminate it, if not fully prevent it. I don’t really notice it anymore, but everyone will feel differently about this type of thing. It’s got something to do with the way the game’s seamless world streams from the server (it’s an MMO).

Also, I’m locked at 60 fps in out-of-town areas, but come into town where there are concentrations of other players, and it will regularly dip to 30-40 fps. No big deal perhaps, but when games see-saw their frame rate more than about 10/15, it’s often indicative of a wonky engine.

Anyway, the developers are working on it. In fact, they recently showcased a Yebis graphics mod overhaul that is being worked on. It seems to beautify the game even more, but let’s hope they address the pop-in.

Guilds
You can join guilds ran by other players, or start one yourself. As a member you may be given kill contracts, or other jobs, for which you will be paid silver.
I joined a rather friendly guild the other day, and it’s one of the best things I could have done. There always seems to be one or two members online and they actively encouraged me to ask any questions‎. In terms of actually contributing to the guild I have, so far, achieved nothing, but I’ve learned loads of helpful stuff over the chat box.

Bosses
Yes. Higher level bosses drop items, gear, etc. You can do them co-op or solo.

AFK (away from keyboard)
Many will be familiar with the concept of leaving your PC on to auto-carry out certain activities, make money, etc. There is a heavy reliance on it here, and it’s quite annoying. I like my PC to get some rest.

Gear/weapons
I’ve just collected the final piece of the Grunil set of gear, which I understand is well suited to rangers. After‎ this I’m heading to Calpheon because the blacksmith apparently sells Yuria bows. Black Desert differs slightly here in that you can basically get any type of gear regardless of character level. It’s what you do afterwards in terms of upgrading it (enchanting/socketing) that really counts.

Similarly to Diablo III wearing combo sets can reap benefits also.

‎Gear is also banded into rarity, something like green, blue, orange, and yellow; with yellow being ultimate. To upgrade rarity you’re required to procure special stones, which are obtainable in a number of ways. The application of these stones into your gear thereafter I believe is based on a random number generator, as indeed are many other things.

Professions
Fishing, trader, farmer, miner, hunter, goods smuggling…. you spend the hours doing one, all, or none as you see fit. Any activity you do will level up character stats in one way or another.

PvP (player vs. player)
You can PvP but it’s locked off until after level 40. You need to activate a PvP flag on your character to signify you are up for a fight. It can only happen out in the wilds (not in safe zones). However, a player who attacks another player who wasn’t flagging for PvP loses Karma stat and this marks them out for others. Even computer-controlled guards will attack them. Guild wars, node wars and even castle sieges can take place within the PvP environment.

Pets
Horses. Useful for travelling and can carry stuff. I bought the explorers package which gave me a tier 3 horse, and a token for a pet which I bought a cat with. These can be useful as they will auto-loot enemies for you and help you notice resources out in the wild. Unfortunately I haven’t seen my cat for about a week‎, I think because I haven’t fed him. I’ve worked out what to do (cook pet food in my house) but I’ve been too pre-occupied with other things. You can also tame horses in the wild, or become a horse breeder and make money. You can’t have a pet monkey.

It’s a Korean MMORPG
Yes, but I do believe the developer has made a determined effort to Westernise the game somewhat‎. The interface, after some tweaking, is reasonably user friendly. Simply hover over an item and it will describe what it is, what it does, possibilities, etc. The systems and mechanics involved in the game are incredibly deep and rich, often bewilderingly so, but quests will give you a step-by-step breakdown of what the game is actually asking you to do.

It’s not perfect however, as sometimes you will hit a wall and wonder why something isn’t happening as planned. When I went to a character to buy Grunil gear I had loads of silver but the transaction wouldn’t work. A trip to Google told me I needed to build Amity (relationship) first with the character, and bingo. So, lots of time with your phone nearby, or indeed join a friendly and active guild.

‎Also, if you’re a completionist and simply must clean a map of icons, then you should perhaps stay clear. The point with Black Desert Online is to do whatever is on your mind (fishing, quests, bosses), or indeed your objective (upgrading gear).

By reader r-s-w

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.

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